Clark, R. Scott. "A Really Short Case for Infant Baptism." The Heidelblog. 7 Aug 2014. http://heidelblog.net/2014/08/a-really-short-case-for-infant-baptism-117-words/. Accessed 14 Aug 2014.
A portion is reproduced here and the rest of Dr. Clark's article may be accessed at the above URL. As usual, Dr. Clark writes accessibly, clearly, often pointedly, with scholarship and with applications for the times--and is a voice to be heard.
A Really Short Case For Infant Baptism (117 words)
There are about 60 million evangelicals in North America. Most of them assume or hold a Baptist interpretation of redemptive history, a Baptist hermeneutic (way of reading Scripture), and consequently, a Baptist view of the sacraments or signs and seals of the covenant of grace. Many evangelicals have never come into contact with the historic Reformed view of the covenant of grace. When all one has ever known is a Baptist view, when all one’s friends and relatives hold a Baptist view, when one has never seen the historic Reformed practice that view can seem implausible, even though it was the view taught by famous and respected Reformers. Often it is assumed that the Reformers must have been influenced by Romanism and that they simply had not finished the job of reforming theology and practice. As a consequence of these assumptions and this sociology (setting in which things are assumed, understood, taught, and interpreted) it can be difficult for Baptists to try to see the Reformed paradigm on its own terms. I get emails regularly asking me to explain the Reformed view. I point correspondents to the large number of HB posts explaining the Reformed view but correspondents frequently ask for something short, on the assumption that if it is true it must be easily and quickly explained. Of course that assumption rests on the assumption that, of course, a Baptist explanation of the New Testament is correct.
So, I thought it might be useful as a starter for the impatient evangelical inquirer, to try to present the Reformed view in a nutshell. Please do not take this as a comprehensive account. It’s meant to whet the reader’s appetite and to suggest areas where the Reformed view differs from the various Baptist views. It’s meant to be a stimulus to further reading and study (e.g., on the New Covenant).
A portion is reproduced here and the rest of Dr. Clark's article may be accessed at the above URL. As usual, Dr. Clark writes accessibly, clearly, often pointedly, with scholarship and with applications for the times--and is a voice to be heard.
A Really Short Case For Infant Baptism (117 words)
There are about 60 million evangelicals in North America. Most of them assume or hold a Baptist interpretation of redemptive history, a Baptist hermeneutic (way of reading Scripture), and consequently, a Baptist view of the sacraments or signs and seals of the covenant of grace. Many evangelicals have never come into contact with the historic Reformed view of the covenant of grace. When all one has ever known is a Baptist view, when all one’s friends and relatives hold a Baptist view, when one has never seen the historic Reformed practice that view can seem implausible, even though it was the view taught by famous and respected Reformers. Often it is assumed that the Reformers must have been influenced by Romanism and that they simply had not finished the job of reforming theology and practice. As a consequence of these assumptions and this sociology (setting in which things are assumed, understood, taught, and interpreted) it can be difficult for Baptists to try to see the Reformed paradigm on its own terms. I get emails regularly asking me to explain the Reformed view. I point correspondents to the large number of HB posts explaining the Reformed view but correspondents frequently ask for something short, on the assumption that if it is true it must be easily and quickly explained. Of course that assumption rests on the assumption that, of course, a Baptist explanation of the New Testament is correct.
So, I thought it might be useful as a starter for the impatient evangelical inquirer, to try to present the Reformed view in a nutshell. Please do not take this as a comprehensive account. It’s meant to whet the reader’s appetite and to suggest areas where the Reformed view differs from the various Baptist views. It’s meant to be a stimulus to further reading and study (e.g., on the New Covenant).
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